Spain to exhume Francisco Franco remains in June

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain will on June 10 exhume the remains of dictator Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen mausoleum and take his body to be reburied, the Socialist government announced on Friday in one of its last moves before a snap election due on April 28.

Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo told a briefing after a cabinet meeting that the government will rebury Franco in the state pantheon Mingorrubio El Pardo, the burial place of various political figures, in a quiet ceremony without media coverage.

More than 40 years after he died, the Franco era remains a sensitive subject in Spain. The plan to move his remains divides Spanish society and political parties, and has been delayed several times over the past months.

His family opposes the exhumation and has taken the issue to court, but the Supreme Court has been silent so far.

“The cabinet has concluded the procedure to exhume the dictator’s remains and rebury them,” Calvo said. “The dictator’s family and those around them have made use of every available legal instrument … forcing delays in the process”.

Reporting by Paul Day and Jose Elias Rodriguez; writing by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Ingrid Melander